No White After Labor Day

Oh dear.  That was the old-fashioned rule. I think it came from NY City, where fashions came from and they needed to drum up a fall trade.

Over here in SoCal, our warmest two months are coming up.  A lady in church yesterday had on a sleeveless frock of white eyelet lace, no sleeves, loose, short, trimmed with a ruffle or two; a perfect dress for those who have good arms.

What to wear in August and September were always great preoccupations in the fashion papers when I was a girl in Texas.  The perfect solution came up from Frost's in San Antonio, one August when I was about nineteen or twenty.  There was no air conditioning, remember.  Ladies had to look neat, cool and perfect at all times.  The perfect solution for August/September was:  a black chiffon dress, keeping the coolness of summer clothing, and a big black velvet hat that hinted at fall.  Black high heels of course.  I had the dress and I had the hat.  And the high heels.  I looked good at church.  Those were Grace Kelly in Rear Window sorts of clothes, and everyone aspired to them.  Graceful, beautiful, even in a cheaper line.

Now it's Labor Day.  Fewer people are worrying about too much work and more are worrying about too little.  Hardly any women are worrying about what to wear after Labor Day, because they know they'll be wearing whatever they wear for work every other day, adapted for the temperature. Times have changed.

I have a box and am packing away summer clothes, irrational though that is.  Something in me tells me it's time, even though I know that cool weather won't come here until Nov. 1, and that it is going to be Hot as Hades in my mother's vernacular up in the East Bay Area of CA to which we are going next week.  What to do? Am I silly? Worrying about clothes?  YAZZYBEL